**3.3 Cashmere products**

*Goats (Capra) - From Ancient to Modern*

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**3.2 Terminology**

**Figure 6.**

**Figure 5.**

For the readers it may be interesting to be familiarized a little about terminology of some animal fibers. General fiber's name, species, and scientific name of some

important animals in the world of "animal fibers" are:

• Cashmere: From cashmere goats: *Capra hircus* Laniger

*Cashmere goats in Herat, Afghanistan (photo by A. B. Hotak, cashmere world, 2014).*

• Wool: From sheep (*Ovis aries*)

*A cashmere goat farm, Kirghizstan. S. A. Rafat 2012.*

Cashmere is a delicate fiber of certain goats that are bred in high and cold regions of the world. The term of cashmere was named as it taken from countries of China, Iran, and Afghanistan to the Kashmir region. In Kashmir, these fibers has been transformed into precious shawls.

In the past few years, the cashmere industry has attracted the attention of the textile industry, which is referred to as "the renaissance of cashmere." The reasons for this reminiscent of cashmere are the interest of individuals and designers of natural fibers; global markets including China; the contribution to sustainable development and the global fight against poverty. According to some researchers, Central Asian countries are potential future suppliers of cashmere.

Cashmere is used in luxury textiles of niche markets, including shawls, coats, cushions, blankets, runners, sweaters, t-shirts, scarves, shawls, and so on (see **Figures 7–9**). A wide range of high-quality and expensive products are produced from cashmere. Cashmere's clothing is generally light and at the same time keeps the human body warm. Designers of clothing use this fiber as a good material that has a lot of design and color.
